Many products are packaged in bottles which are designed to stand with the opening at the top of the bottle, but cannot stand stably if turned upside down. Condiments, hair care products, skin care products, lubricants, cleaning products, and many other products are packaged in this manner. As the bottle sits in an upright position, the product settles at the bottom of the bottle. When the product runs low, a user must turn the bottle upside down and shake it in order to coax the remaining product out of the opening. Even then, a substantial amount of product often remains stuck to the sides and bottom of the bottle and gets thrown away when it becomes too cumbersome to continue trying to shake more of the product out. The cumulative effect of such waste is expensive for the consumer, and takes a toll on the environment in a time of increased awareness of one's carbon footprint and better conservation of food and other products.
To combat this waste, one current system includes replacement lids or caps which, when attached to the bottle, allow it to stand more stably upside down. Such lids require a specific threading or lid size in order to fit onto the opening of the bottle, and must be washed between uses, significantly limiting their utility. Other systems include stands which engage the bottle via bars which create a square opening, providing a poor fit for the majority of product bottles, and thus an unstable or leaky hold. Further, such stands often lack aesthetic appeal, reducing their utility in areas of a home which are visible to both residents and guests.
It is therefore desirable to provide methods and apparatus for holding containers with top openings in an inverted position so that their contents may be moved by gravity toward the opening in order to more fully utilize their contents and avoid waste.